Time Bomb
by ekc293
Summary: "How could they be so blatantly obvious, yet still so oblivious?" Total Caskett, future one-shot, rated for a few suggestive sentences.


Hello lovelies! Let me start off by saying thank you for all the recent alerts/favorites on all my other stories. They are much appreciated (:  
>I'm also dedicating this to Kris again, because I know she'll appreciate this.<br>Disclaimer: I don't own Castle. I don't own "Time Bomb." I don't own All Time Low. That is all.

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><p>"<em>Oh, resistance is useless."<em>

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><p>When Richard Castle first met Katherine Beckett, he knew he had to have her. She was beautiful, sassy, and the ultimate challenge. She wanted nothing to do with him but he wouldn't let go that easily. He worked his way into her life, and after a while, the chase for Kate Beckett's body turned into a race for her heart. A race, he should mention, he never seemed to be winning.<p>

Little did he know, Kate was having a struggle of her own. When Rick Castle first walked into her life, she fought him every step of the way to make sure she didn't become another one of his conquests. She justified that yes, he was ruggedly handsome, and yes, he was incredibly talented, but he was still, for lack of a better phrase, a douche. At least, that's what she thought until he started following her around.

Her defenses started crumbling when she saw him as a father.

Her walls completely tumbled down after he had helped her with her mother's case.

When he left for the summer, Kate threw her walls back up. At least, she thought she did. When he returned in the fall, she quickly realized that the stone fortress she thought she had successfully rebuilt around her heart was in reality just a sand castle, ready to fall to pieces the moment she looked in his eyes for the first time in three months.

But fortunately for her, he didn't know this.

What they were both painfully aware of though, was that they had the most awful timing in the world. For a master of words, Rick Castle struggled to say anything worth saying when it truly mattered (he blamed it on the fact that the moments where he wanted to say something usually involved her smiling, and that would make any man speechless) and for a seemingly fearless, NYPD detective, Kate Beckett cowered at the thought of being loved (she would blame it on his history, but she knows she's the real issue here).

They were also fully aware of the effect they had on the other.

Except neither fully comprehended the extent to which the other person cared.

Kate knew that Rick found it incredibly attractive when she bit her lip; she could tell by the way his eyes quickly darted down to stare at her mouth. However, Kate was unaware that every time she did it, Rick was overwhelmed by the image of him taking her into his arms, pulling her mouth up to his and taking her full bottom lip between his own teeth.

Rick knew that Kate loved his writing; he had pieced it together between her collection of his books on display at her apartment and the fact that she still hasn't killed him for the Nikki Heat series. Rick had no idea that Kate would steal glances at him while he was scribbling furiously on his notepad he kept stashed away in the bottom drawer of her desk; that the words he etched onto the paper had her dreaming of a time when his hands would write a story on her skin.

Kate was aware that Rick thought Kate could be a great role model for Alexis; he had told her on multiple occasions. She didn't know that every time Alexis spoke of time she spent with Kate, Rick's dreams that night would consist of little green-eyed children, who had his nose and her smile.

Rick had discovered over time that Kate needed a strong man in her life; he had seen her failed relationships (Josh being the most recent). What Rick didn't know was how much she loved when he pushed her buttons; that he was willing to challenge her and make her fight for what she wanted.

Although, if Rick knew that he made her feel like she had to fight for what she wanted, he'd never open his mouth again.

Surely she had to know that he'd buy her the moon if she asked for it.

He had to have noticed that she breathed a little deeper whenever he was around (He had once told her she smelled like cherries. He smelled like old books and cinnamon).

She couldn't not notice the way he purposefully touched her fingers with the tips of his own when he handed over her coffee in the morning, right?

He couldn't have possibly ignored the spark, could he?

She had to see that he was on fire, his heart threatening to spontaneously combust whenever she so much as breathed around him.

How could they be so blatantly obvious, yet still so oblivious?

If there was one thing Rick was sure of it was that after all this time, his need to have Kate Beckett had only grown stronger. The only difference being that now he wanted all of her. He also knew that he would be anything Kate asked him to be until he finally got the chance to be hers. For right now, he could resist the urge to hold her hand when they were driving in her car and put his arm around her waist when they were sitting in front of the murder board. He could ignore his insatiably curiosity as to whether her skin tasted the same as her lips had that night that made frequent appearances in his dreams.

At least, he thought he could.

Heaven knows that it had only gotten harder for Kate as well. She could pretend that the butterflies in her stomach had nothing to do with the way he looked at her. He didn't have to know that whenever she read his books, she found herself staring at his portrait on the back cover more often than reading his actual writing (she could also hide that she had many passages memorized she had read them so much). Kate reasoned that, no matter how wonderful it may be, she didn't need to feel his hand on the small of her back; she didn't need to feel his stubble scrap across her cheek; she didn't need to feel his warm breath caress her ear as he whispered her name like a prayer.

No, she certainly didn't _need_ any of that.

Though she was haunted by how much she _wanted_ it.

But she wasn't willing to ruin what they have.

He wasn't either.

How could they be so blind?

It was palpably obvious to everyone around them how much they love each other. Yes, you read correctly, **love**. Their friends could see it, their families could see it, hell, even their _exes_ could see it. They all saw how good they were for each other; how wonderful they could be for each other.

So why didn't they do it? Why was it so hard for Rick and Kate to say three little words at just the right moment when anyone with eyes could see it so clearly?

The fear of being rejected.

The fear of having their hearts irrevocably broken.

The fear of losing what they have.

The fear of falling hopelessly in love with someone who you realized you never want to be without.

Undoubtedly, the answer is all of the above.

But the inevitably of the entire situation was forever ingrained in their thoughts.

Eventually, all those subtle glances will be noticed and the unspoken thoughts will be heard.

No one knew when or how or why, but eventually either Kate or Rick is going to say those three words that change their lives forever.

They won't even know what hit them.

The fuse of the impending time bomb of emotion that was strung out between them is getting shorter and shorter, and there is nothing they can do to stop it.

The question is; do they want to stop it?

The answer is always the same.

No.

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><p><em>"It was like a time bomb set into motion.<br>We knew that we were destined to explode."  
><em>- _Time Bomb_, All Time Low

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><p>(listen to the song here: http: www. youtube. com / watch?v=Jtvq-_YaQRo)  
>I'm sorry it's painfully short. I just wanted to give you all something and I really couldn't think of a better spot to end it.<br>I also thought of another one-shot idea from something I wrote in here, and I'm really kind of excited to write that! I'm actually going to work on it right after I shower (seeing as I get to sleep in tomorrow!)

I hope this whole one-shot makes sense. There wasn't really any plot, mostly just reflection.  
>As always, <strong>Love it? Hate it? Let me know what you think! (:<strong>


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